Chair

Transfer Credit

The Committee discussed three issues regarding transfer credit. The revised approved language appears in the Appendix below, and will be added to the SSE Graduate Catalog.

Graduate credit used toward an earned degree at another University or Tulane school could not be applied toward an SSE degree at the equivalent level (e.g., courses toward a Master’s degree at another University could be used toward the SSE PhD but not the SSE MS).

Graduate transfer credit also must be approved by the SSE department/program that offers the equivalent course (e.g., SSE MATH should recommend transfer credit of MATH courses, regardless of the student’s home department). Currently, the approval flow comprises the student’s advisor and chair in the home department as well as the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. Our approval form should be updated.

Wording regarding transfer credit and tenure was cumbersome, so revision was attempted.

Expansion of 4+1 program in EEB

EEB expanded its 4+1 MS curriculum to be open to majors in ENVB (environmental biology) and EBIO (ecology and evolutionary biology). The expanded curriculum option was supported without question; revised curriculum will appear on the EEB website.

ESL grades

Grades of U (unsatisfactory) in 1 credit English as a Second Language Course are factored into the graduate grade point average. If the student earns a satisfactory grade on a re-take of the course, the U should be expunged. Proposal passed.

Appendix

The department/program concerned and the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs must approve the acceptance of graduate credit for work done at other graduate institutions or in another division of Tulane University. Up to 12 semester hours of transfer credit may be accepted toward a Master of Science degree, and up to 24 semester hours of transfer credit may be accepted toward the doctoral degree; SSE departments may use more stringent maximums for specific degrees. Work used toward another degree of equal level will not be accepted (e.g. Courses used for Master’s degree at another institution or Tulane School may be applied toward a PhD from SSE, but not toward an SSE MS degree). To be considered for transfer credit, graduate work done at another institution or in another division of Tulane University must carry a grade of B or better. In cases in which transfer credit is requested for work outside the student’s program, the SSE department who offers coursework in that area should be consulted (e.g., MATH should recommend transfer credit of MATH courses for students).

The tenure for completion of all work in a Master’s program is five years, and tenure deadlines apply to transfer credit. Thus, transfer work applied toward the SSE MS degree must have been completed no more than four years from the date of first registration as an SSE graduate student. The tenure for completion of all work in a PhD program is seven years. Thus, transfer work applied toward the SSE PhD degree must have been completed no more than six years from the date of first registration as an SSE graduate student.

Only in unusual cases, upon the recommendation of the chair of the student’s department, may the dean approve for transfer credit courses taken earlier. The decision concerning the acceptance of all transfer of credit to the record of a graduate student will not be reached until after the student has completed at least one semester of successful study at Tulane. After a semester (nine hours) of study at Tulane, the student should petition the department to recommend transfer credit to the School of Science and Engineering.